Bald Eagle

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Full-color watercolors along with black-and-white insets detail the birth and life of the American bald eagle. The first page amazes with the statement that it can take thirty-six hours of pushing and cracking for a baby eagle to emerge from its egg. The parents share responsibility for keeping the baby birds warm and for feeding them. Within eight or nine weeks they are able to glide to nearby trees, and then after ten weeks the birds must fly to their parents if they want to eat. From then on, they must fly with their parents and learn how to hunt for food. The pictures and sketches accompanied by factual notes turn this picture book into a wonderful science book. Great for home or classroom and budding bird fanciers.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5Large watercolor and black-ink drawings illustrate the life cycle of the American bald eagle. The dramatic but straightforward text begins with the first of two eagle eggs hatching and follows the development of both nestlings until they are able to feed themselves, fly, and undertake winter migration. Come late winter or early spring, the parent eagles mate again, and as the book closes, they are set to witness the first of their new brood hatching. This alone would make a successful ornithological study for young readers. Morrison adds yet another layer: many of the book's pages also contain highly detailed anatomical drawings in pencil and more advanced explanations that enlarge the range of information for older readers. They add details on subjects such as how eagles fly, the color phases that the birds pass through during their five-year journey to maturity, the animals on which eagles prey, and how they catch fish. Adults reading to primary-aged children can easily skip over the more sophisticated material. Although there is no shortage of fine books that explore the life history of bald eagles, this one is unique in its usefulness and attractiveness.Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

Kirkus Reviews

This handy natural-history resource book includes everything readers need to know about eagles and more. Through two levels of textþa narrative and an abundance of extremely detailed asidesþMorrison presents the lifecycle of the bald eagle and the particulars of their habits and habitats. The primary text, accompanied by realistic watercolors, begins and ends with the hatching of an eaglet, and in clear, flowing language chronicles all stages of development. Detailed pencil drawings and diagrams supplement the secondary text, which offers more specific information about the eagles, such as their anatomy, prey, and flight techniques, in equally simple, lucid language. Morrison keeps it short and uncomplicated, but includes plenty of information by making good use of the page, keeping the watercolors at the fore, and the pencil drawings to the sides and bottoms of pages. Neither cursory nor overwhelming, this useful tool bespeaks the quiet passion of its creator, and passes it along to budding ornithologists. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)

From the Publisher

"This handy natural-history resource book includes everything readers need to know about eagles and more." Kirkus Reviews

Although there is no shortage of fine books that explore the life history of bald eagles, this one is unique in its usefulness and attractiveness.
School Library Journal